VOL 10 No. 49
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County & Missouri City
Appeals court affirms State Rep. Ron Reynolds’ conviction By SESHADRI KUMAR A Texas appeals court last week has upheld the conviction of state Rep. Ron Reynolds, who was found guilty in 2015 of engaging in a scheme to illegally solicit potential clients for his law firm. The three-judge appellate panel ruled Nov. 29 that there was sufficient evidence to convict Reynolds and that the trial judge did not violate any rules relating to the introduction of evidence. Reynolds, a Democrat from Missouri City, represents House District 27. He was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2010. Reacting to the ruling, Reynolds said, “I was very disappointed in the appeals court ruling. My attorney is currently working on my appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals. I remain very confident that I will be vindicated of the misdemeanor barratry charges (solicitation of accident cases within 31 days of the accident).” Reynolds said he would seek re-election to his fifth term. “I’ve received over-whelming support from my constituents including elected officials, precinct chairs, pastors, community leaders and citizens. I will continue to work hard and fight for adequate funding for our public schools, affordable quality healthcare, jobs/economy, criminal justice reforms and equal
Reynolds pay for equal work,” he said. Reynolds was sentenced to one year in jail, but he has been out on an appeal bond since his November 2015 conviction. He was re-elected in 2016, months after his conviction on five misdemeanor charges of barratry, also known as “ambulance chasing.” Reynolds illegally teamed with a convicted felon, Robert Valdez, to obtain client referrals for his personal injury law firm. Valdez obtained police reports immediately following vehicle crashes, contacted the drivers who weren’t at fault, referred them to Reynolds, and took payment from Reynolds in exchange, according
to the prosecution. Texas law bars lawyers from contacting potential clients within 31 days of a crash, and lawyers cannot employ a third party to initiate contact during that time period. In his appeal, Reynolds argued that he believed Valdez did not initiate contact with the potential clients for legal representation. Reynolds said he thought Valdez referred clients who had initially sought out Valdez for treatment at his medical clinics. The judges found enough evidence to uphold the conviction, noting that Reynolds paid Valdez in cash, did not document the payments and used code words in text messages to cover potentially nefarious motives, among other tactics. “The evidence here supports a rational construct that (Reynolds) was aware of Valdez’s scheme and knowingly permitted his conduct,” Eighth Court of Appeals Chief Justice Ann Crawford McClure wrote. Reynolds challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, stating that while the jury may believe he purchased clients, that fact did not indicate Reynolds knew the clients were improperly contacted. “While we agree it is not direct evidence of such, knowing that Robert was improperly selling clients would be a circumstance the jury could consider in the
context of the other evidence of guilt,” the opinion stated. Reynolds and his supporters said at the time of conviction that he was the victim of racial bias and that his conviction amounted to a “modern-day lynching,” Joel Daniels, assistant district attorney with the Montgomery County DA’s Office, was pleased to learn of the higher court’s decision. The next step, he said, would be for the appeals court to issue a mandate for the maximum sentence of one year in the Montgomery County Jail and a $4,000 fine. “The appeals court has unanimously rejected Ron Reynolds’ attempt to overturn the jury’s verdict,” Daniels told The Courier., published in Conroe. “We believe this is an important step in bringing Mr. Reynolds one step closer to serving his justly received punishment. Mr. Reynolds owes a debt to his clients and to the justice system as a whole.” Texas law allows individuals with misdemeanor convictions to hold public office. In 2016, Reynolds’ law license was suspended, he filed for bankruptcy and was ordered to pay $504,000 for failing to give the proper share of a settlement to a fatal crash victim’s mother. Voters in his Fort Bend County district returned him to office, giving him 52 percent of the vote in a primary runoff and 68 percent in the general election.
Winter Fest
Second Street Brass - Roger Bauer, Austin Reyna, John Hebert, Michael Gallegos, Mickey Tate. Live music by talented local musicians will be featured at Fort Bend County Libraries’ “Winter Fest & Holiday Market,” which will take place at George Memorial Library on Saturday, Dec. 9, from 10:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m. The performance by the Second Street Brass ensemble will begin at 11 a.m in the Bohachevsky Gallery of the library, located at 1001 Golfview in Richmond. The group will play a variety of musical pieces, from holiday favorites to New Orleans jazz and classical music. The quintet features two trumpets, a French horn, a trombone, and a tuba. Handmade recycled-book art creations will be available for sale in the Holiday Market by the Friends of George Memorial Library throughout the event. Proceeds from the Friends of the Library book sales, craft market, and annual membership dues help to underwrite the costs of special programming and various cultural events at the library. Balloon Bending, by Jelly Belly Schmelly, will take place from 12 noon to 1 p.m, in the Children’s department. Children of all ages will enjoy holiday-themed balloon creations! The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call George Memorial Library at 281-342-4455 or the library’s Public Information Office at 281-633-4734.
Sugar Land discusses potential acquisition of the Lakeview Auditorium from FBISD By BARBARA FULENWIDER Sugar Land City Council and Fort Bend ISD board of trustees at a joint meeting on Nov. 28 had a discussion about what to do and who might do it in regard to the 99-year-old Lakewood Auditorium built by Imperial Sugar in 1918. Sugar Land Cultural Arts Foundation (SLCAF) board members also attended the meeting. In 2000, Sugar Land, FBISD, and SLCAF signed a 20-year agreement to renovate the interior of the Sugar Land Auditorium, which is known as Lakeview Auditorium. The agreement included interior restoration and upgrading of sound and lights. In April 2016 the SLCAF asked the city if they wanted to own the facility. What followed was a meeting of the city and interest by FBISD to give the auditorium to Sugar Land. Background information to council members says staff got permission to work with FBISD and SLCAF to determine costs and operations if the city decided to take ownership of the auditorium. In April 2017, staff estimated the cost to operate the venue. Council then directed that a tri-
party development agreement be written to address capital needs including adding a public bathroom, more parking, shared use between the parties and a financial structure for operations and conveyance. Lindsay Davis, cultural arts manager, reviewed the timeline and next steps for proceeding with the fiscal year 2018 project to evaluate the city’s acquisition of Sugar Land Auditorium from FBISD. In 2016 staff presented the prospect of taking over the auditorium and by late 2017 city council began seeking initial feedback from FBISD and SLCAF. Davis said the costs sharing would be equitable among the parties and that the booking structure increases the auditorium’s usage and overall usage for cultural arts and educational events. She also noted that the cost sharing between COSL and SLCAF is an incentive for SLCAF to increase the uses. To establish prioritization usage, Davis said alcohol usage, funding for electrical upgrades, window updates, air conditioning units, adequate parking and front lawn acreage would need to be in the tri-party agreement with all parties agreeing to the
terms. So far $200,000 has been dedicated by SLCAF to building the public restroom. Estimates for it are in the $600,000 range. FBISD Trustee Dave Rosenthal said he preferred minimizing or eliminating upfront district costs or fees related to using the auditorium. Fort Bend ISD Board Member Grayle James said she sees the auditorium “as a learning space and educational opportunities at the school and feeder schools. I see it for community collaboration and an opportunity as a learning space.” But she also said she needs “a lot more information about how the school would access it. I think we can build a collaborative community partnership. I think we are in a position to put a lot of capital improvements into the building and I appreciate the foundation for their efforts and fund raising,” James said. Sugar Land Mayor Joe Zimmerman asked board members what their next steps would be, can the parties move forward and start some type of negotiation, and taking into consideration that Sugar Land has no extra money for such, would
FBISD like to have discussions on it. “Is your board in support of the transfer of ownership or am I hearing ownership would remain with the school district,” Zimmerman asked. Fort Bend Superintendent Charles Dupre said the board has not had a conversation about the terms, etc. Zimmerman replied, “Lakeview is a piece of our heritage. After that discussion and following some feedback from you, I think there are some fundamental things the board needs to address.” Board President Kristin Tassin told Zimmerman, “We knew our administration was having conversations about it but we as a board have not discussed it.” Zimmerman said, “In all fairness, let’s let you have that dialogue so you are fully vetted. We are generally in favor of it but we are $400,000 shy in order to have a restroom. Certainly preservation of the auditorium is first and foremost. I think the board needs to have that deliberation and then we See LAKEVIEW, Page 3
See INSIDE TRACK Page 4
Holiday Book-Art Creation
Staff member Mary Hulse displays some of the Recycled-Book Art.